This volume serves as a comprehensive bibliographic record of historical scholarship concerning British and Irish history published during the 1989 calendar year. Editors Barbara English and J. J. N. Palmer, working under the auspices of the Royal Historical Society, compiled this reference to provide researchers with an organized survey of the year's academic output. The work utilizes a structured thematic and chronological framework to categorize thousands of books and articles, facilitating access to specific historical inquiries.

Experts recognize this series as a foundational reference tool for historians and students of British and Irish studies. The text is noted for its rigorous organizational standards and its utility in navigating the vast landscape of historical literature produced in the late twentieth century.